Roman was born in Rostov, Russia, the son of a theater impresario. After the Russian Revolution when Lenin gained power in 1922, Roman, his brother, and his parents fled their homeland for New York. "We left Russia because of communism," he said.

He received his early training as an artist in Russia and Paris. The young Roman's first published drawings were backstage sketches that appeared in Russian theater magazines. He later studied at the Art Students League and the National Academy of Arts and was a noted mural painter and costume designer before turning his talents to portraiture.

President Roosevelt's Works Project Administration (WPA) commissioned Roman to paint murals for the Ford and Palestinian Pavilions at the 1939 New York World's Fair. This led to many commissions for murals throughout the country. One of his most notable works is his mural commissioned for New York's Russian Tea Room, which is currently in the New York City Museum collection. Of his many murals, 'Cornucopia' may still be seen in the Edison Hotel in New York. Working in a Fifth Avenue studio, he designed costumes for the famous Broadway producer Florenz Ziegfield of Ziegfield Follies. When dancer Isadora Duncan admired some of his Spanish costumes, he made a large hand-painted shawl for her ~ the one that strangled her when it got caught in the wheels of a car. Roman was acquainted with Manhattan's most successful and dynamic artists and musicians including abstract expressionist Willem de Kooning, with whom he shared a studio in the 1930's.

In 1942 he married Geneva McCormack. He then began working primarily on portraits. His portraits were carried by the Gerialdil Galleries in New York. In 1959 he ventured to Atlanta to paint the mural for the Cabana Hotel opening. Two years later, he moved to Atlanta where he and his brother Constantin opened a studio together and taught art classes in addition to their commissions.

His portraits hang in many private homes and in galleries across the Southeast. Roman was honored with the Governor's Award from the Georgia Council for the Arts and Humanities in 1983.

Mr. Chatov's works have been shown in galleries and museums on both continents and are represented in many private and corporate collections.